Everyone is simply trying to survive.
It’s June in rural Niger. A few raindrops are returning to the sun-scorched landscape after a long dry season. So are the fathers of many children who live there.
These men left their villages months ago, searching for work in cities during the annual drought. This exodus occurs every year because there is little food that families can grow when conditions become arid. Women and children left behind must endure at home. Everyone is simply trying to survive.
“Niger is at the center of a humanitarian emergency largely ignored by the world,” said Adeyinka Onabolu, our project manager. “Some of the most dire food needs are being met by large-scale food distributions, including by Samaritan’s Purse. However, those rations cannot keep pace with the actual demand.”
This hunger crisis Adeyinka is speaking about is now being felt around the world. The combined impacts of war and conflict, climate shocks—like drought—and the skyrocketing cost of almost everything is putting enormous pressure on families like Ibrahim’s.* Though he works hard to provide for them each day, they struggle to have enough to eat. They know hunger’s pain.
In these situations, the gift of agriculture makes a powerful difference for Ibrahim and other fathers. Tools, training, seeds, and livestock empower them to grow nutritious, resilient, and plentiful food today and in the future. These life-changing resources allow dads to stay home instead of making long and dangerous journeys in search of food.
Through Samaritan’s Purse food projects, you bring this hope to dads and their families.
“Through the intervention of Samaritan’s Purse, we know a variety of vegetables, their usefulness, and how to grow them,” Ibrahim shared. “Before, we didn’t know about the usage and importance of market garden products like cabbage, eggs, tomatoes, and moringa, which are very nutritious. We have learned so much from this project.”
“And God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food” (Genesis 1:29, ESV).
More than 5,200 people in need, like Ibrahim and his family, are being empowered to grow their own food. Alongside agriculture, this project is also addressing another major concern: the deaths of too many mothers and babies because of chronic malnutrition. Our teams are in communities throughout Niger providing seeds for critical crops, including millet, beans, and sorghum. Then, when precipitation drops off, we equip them to harvest crops like moringa—rich in protein, vitamins, and minerals.
These seeds are saving lives.
According to Ibrahim, this project is also changing hearts. “Ever since we started working with Samaritan’s Purse on this gardening project, our hearts began to change,” he explained. “We have developed more and more love between us.”
Ibrahim shared that he and his neighbors are deeply touched by the teachings they received about Jesus Christ through our local ministry team. He felt called to love his neighbors more sincerely—and he hopes future generations will follow suit.
“This confirmed to us that you are people following Jesus.”
“Through the behavior of the staff who showed us how to grow crops for our children’s consumption, we have discovered this love,” said Ibrahim. “This confirmed to us that you are people following Jesus.”
Staff share the Gospel and faith stories during project activities, training sessions, and home visits. The ministry team also uses the Jesus Film, children’s Bible stories, and songs translated into Nigerien languages to tell the Good News.
“This project removed the precariousness in our lives…We thank you, and we say God bless you,” Ibrahim declared.
Your gifts are vital in helping more fathers like Ibrahim provide for their families amid a growing hunger crisis. Your prayerful partnership opens the door to share about the One who, unlike the seasons, never changes: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8).
*Name changed to protect privacy.
More than a billion people worldwide are suffering from chronic malnutrition. Through your gifts, Samaritan’s Purse is providing lasting solutions through hands-on farming training, home garden projects, and practical education about nutrition, as well as desperately-needed food staples for hungry families in emergency situations.